when they’re in times of need and help is like as if we’re
making jihad in the path of Allah the Majestic and Sublime.
And we know jihad in the path of Allah the Exalted is of the
greatest of deeds that a Muslim can take part in.”
Submissions
313.
The BBC submitted that the Claimant used the phrase “making jihad in the path of
Allah” several times in the speech indicating encouragement for armed jihad (qital).
314.
The Claimant submitted that the term jihad was used in a peaceful sense and the
speech was encouraging the donation of money to the charity.
Analysis
315.
The experts agreed that the primary purpose of the speech was to encourage giving to
the needy (infaq) and charity more generally (sadaqa) rather than the encouragement
or condoning armed Jihad.
316.
The BBC submitted that if the Claimant wished to focus solely on charitable giving,
he could easily have done so without using the word jihad with its modern-day
negative connotations. However, since the Claimant used the word jihad in the
original Arabic, Dr Wilkinson was not able to say whether the word jihad was used in
the same sense as in the DEVIANT GROUPS (2009) speech (i.e. qital). He accepted
that the overall tone of the speech was moderate.
317.
Mr Caldecott QC suggested to the Claimant in cross-examination that the Claimant’s
choice of a hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad) that mentioned
jihad was inappropriate at a charitable event which included members of the audience
who had been detained for suspected terrorist activity (viz. “One who strives to help
the widows and the poor is like the one who fights in the way of Allah”). The Claimant
explained that since the breadwinners had gone, the widows (almala) had become like
the poor (miskin) and therefore the hadith was appropriate.
Conclusion
318.
In these circumstances, in final speeches, Mr Caldecott QC did not invite the Court to
place particular weight on the Claimant’s HHUGS SPEECH (2011). In my view, he
was right so to suggest and, accordingly, I do not do so.
(7) BELMARSH PRISON SPEECH (2011)
319.
The BBC rely upon a speech given by the Claimant at a rally outside Her Majesty’s
Prison Belmarsh in August 2011 to mark the end of Ramadan.
Text of the speech
320.
I set out below the full text of the speech which was delivered on a grassy knoll
outside the prison itself and took the form of a traditional Islamic sermon (khutba):
72
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